A Flicker of Light
by Silver pup
Summary: (Sequel to A Shot in the Dark) She had asked him to make her son into a king worthy of legend. Bilbo is still not sure how that even works.
1. Part One

**A Flicker of Light**

Summary: (Sequel to _A Shot in the Dark_ ) She had asked him to make her son into a king worthy of legend. Bilbo is still not sure how that even works.

Author's Notes: This story takes place in the _A Shot in the Dark_ universe. I suggest reading that first or you'll be confused here.

Pairings: Bilbo/Thorin, Glóin/Canonical Wife, Bard of Laketown/Canonical Wife, Dís/Canonical Husband.

Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar characters/settings/plot featured in this story. They all belong to (most likely rolling in his grave) **J.R.R. Tolkien**.

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 **P** art **O** ne **  
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Bilbo goes to Bard for some advice on parenting. He quickly realizes why this is always a bad idea.

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"Estel hates me," Bilbo confessed to Bard halfway through their lunch of cold sandwiches.

Bard nodded, looking unsurprised. "Of course he does. You're the awful villain that tore him away from his Elven Lord of a daddy and beautiful home to force him to live in a mountain of ruins. I would hate you too."

"But it was his mother's choice!" he defended childishly, trying not to pout. "I didn't make them come here! Lady Gilraen decided that all on her own!"

"So? You still accepted," Bard reminded cruelly because he was the worst Best Friend in all the Ages. "Plus, that's his mommy. He's never going to hate his mommy. But you and the King of Furrowed Eyebrows are fair game."

"You give horrible advice," retorted Bilbo, scowling at the Man across from him. "Why did I ever decide to ask you for help? I should have known you would give bad advice. I should have gone to Dís."

"Yes, please, go to the Lady 'I Can Have You Killed With A Snap Of My Fingers' for advice on your ward," agreed the Man as he snatched one of Bilbo's sandwiches; cementing his title as Worst Best Friend Ever. "I'm sure she'd be happy to help. What was her latest kill count by the way? 936? That is, not counting the bodies they never found."

"Dís wouldn't hurt Estel. He's family and that's her weak spot," he argued though he didn't deny the murdering aspect. Dís was not a morally upstanding citizen and didn't bother to hide it now that she had real power to back her up again. Sometimes Bilbo wondered what would have happened if Dís had been born a male, but that was a thought too scary even for him to visualize so he didn't think on it very hard.

Bard shrugged and pushed back some of hair behind his remaining ear. "I would be more afraid of her taking him under her wing and teaching him all her tricks."

Bilbo felt the blood drain from his face. "Oh please, Bard, never utter such a horrible idea to me ever again. The complete carnage that would result in Estel growing up to be like _Dís_..."

"It'd make him taking on Sauron a lot easier," the Man replied cheerfully.

"Do you listen to yourself when you talk?" the Hobbit wondered, staring.

Bard simply smiled. "What does your furry king think of all of this?"

"He says it's normal," Bilbo admitted, peeling at a loose end of crust on his sandwich. "That Estel is suffering a huge sense of loss as his entire world has been changed. He says to give Estel time and not to put any pressure on him to accept us."

"Wow. Thorin sounds like he actually knows what he's doing here." Bard looked suitably impressed and then suspicious as he leaned out of their ruined hovel in Dale to peer up at the overcast sky. "Nope. No pigs flying or a great tear in the sky announcing our deaths. I guess Thorin being good with children just isn't big enough for the Valar. Shame. I would have liked to seen the pigs."

"When it starts raining, I'm leaving you here so your foot rusts," Bilbo declared.

"But he's right you know," added the Man as he nudged one of Bilbo's feet with his said prosthetic piece that the greatest smiths in Erebor had put together for him. Bilbo was half-convinced it was made of mithril.

"Estel needs time and space to get used to all of you. It is a big change that he's been forced to deal with."

"I've been trying to give him time and space but nothing seems to please him," the Hobbit admitted, biting his lower lip. "He's so moody and distant with me. He never smiles and barely even speaks. I don't know how to deal with such a child. Frodo was never like that growing up. I'm not used to this."

Bard looked sympathetic. "Frodo was a different sort from Estel. Of course this experience is going to be different. All you can do for now is try your best to make the boy comfortable. Maybe have him help on one of the reconstruction jobs in the mountain? It might help him feel more comfortable with Dwarves and maybe even forge a connection to Erebor."

Bilbo thought over the suggestion and realized the Man was right. There were enough tasks going on in Erebor to keep Estel occupied for years to come. Perhaps by building the kingdom up, he would grow attached to the Erebor he was helping create.

"It's worth a shot," he agreed with a smile. "Thank you, Bard. Sometimes I wonder what I would do without you around."

"Fail at raising your children and die doing something dumb and needlessly heroic obviously," the Worst Best Friend of All Ages replied with a roll of his eyes.

Bilbo mentally decided it was time to get new friends.


	2. Part Two

Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar characters/settings/plot featured in this story. They all belong to (most likely rolling in his grave **) J.R.R. Tolkien**.

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 **P** art **T** wo

Thorin doesn't understand why everyone is shocked at how easily he can deal with Estel. He had helped raise _Fíli_ and _Kíli_ for Mahâl's sake. A broody little boy with daddy issues was a piece of cake.

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Thorin simply stared at Bilbo.

"I thought I told you to leave him alone," the king finally said, half-scolding him and half-questioning. "That the more you push at him, the more he's going to pull away."

"You did tell me that," Bilbo acknowledged, stirring his tea and taking a sip to test the temperature. The slight burn he got for his efforts told him it needed more time to cool.

"Then why are you making him help you organize the library?!" the King Under the Mountain demanded, banging his fist on the table and causing the delicate china set to jump and tremble.

Bilbo flashed him a scolding glare and was satisfied when Thorin flinched and apologetically fixed the plate of scones that had overturned. "I'm trying to get him involved in the reconstruction of the kingdom in order to give him a chance to forge a bond with Erebor."

Thorin just stared again. "You've been talking to Bard again haven't you."

"Of course I have," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He's the only one around here who has any idea how to relate to Estel."

"It's not very hard to understand the boy."

"No. It's not very hard for _you_ to understand him," the Hobbit corrected. "You are both moody and like to glower at inanimate objects, and he's probably going to end up with your horrible taste in clothes. I foresee a lot of fur coats in his future."

"Better than waistcoats," the Dwarf muttered.

Bilbo pretended not to hear.

"He won't like you just because you're around each other," Thorin added in louder tone. "He might even come to hate you more."

"I know that but I have to try," he insisted, playing with the handle of his delicate teacup. "Besides, it won't be just me he'll be helping. I've also asked the others to allow him to assist them in their projects."

Thorin stared at him for a long moment with his brows furrowed. When he spoke again, his voice was softer than earlier, "Bilbo, why is this boy's affection so important to you? Are you trying to make up for not having Frodo?"

"Don't be stupid. _No one_ could replace my nephew in my heart," the Hobbit replied, scoffing at the very _idea_ of it. Not even Thorin—the love of his live(s)—could hope to compare to the level of affection he held for his adopted son.

"Estel is just... a different matter. I knew him, once. His future self. And yet..." Bilbo sighed and rubbed the tip of his nose. "Estel hates me. He _hates_ me. His future self was my _friend_ , a _good_ friend. Aragorn did so much for me by protecting Frodo and the others and I could never repay him for that. And now he _hates_ me."

"Bilbo, he does not hate you," his husband soothed, reaching out to clasp Bilbo's free hand. "He is simply angry and lashing out at what he sees as the cause of his misfortune. In time, he will come to see that you are not to blame."

Bilbo squeezed the rough hand holding his own as he confessed, "But I _am_ to blame. I'm the one who came back and changed everything. If not for my meddling, he would still be with Lord Elrond and his family."

"Yes, and Fíli, Kíli, and I would be worm food right about now," Thorin reminded him, looking unsympathetic to his guilt. Bilbo had noticed that Thorin, while being a broody brat most days, did not like to see it in others, and would always do his best to pull the Hobbit out of his dark thoughts. Bilbo had a theory this was because Thorin liked to be the only dramatic goon in the mountain and could not stand the competition.

"And it was not exactly your choice to return to the past," the king added, rubbing Bilbo's knuckles with his thumb. "Besides, you know that if Estel stayed with Elrond, Sauron would have used that to his advantage. He knows the Man that Estel would have grown up to become, and he would have used that knowledge to destroy the boy before he was strong enough to stand against the Dark Lord. By bringing Estel here, his mother has changed everything. Now Sauron is as blind to his future as the rest of us."

Bilbo stared, feeling a bit taken back by his husband's words. He forgot, most of the time, that Thorin had been around for _two_ centuries; that was a lot of time for any mortal. He only remembered when Thorin opened up his mouth and said something so insightful and wise that it could have come from an Elf or Gandalf.

"You're wonderful," he said as simple love coursed through him, "I love you. Why did you ever agree to marry a stuffy little thing like me?"

"Survivor's guilt," Thorin replied with the sweetest smile before he high jacked Bilbo's last berry tart.

Bilbo immediately scowled and pulled his hand back. "I want a divorce."


End file.
